The last place you might expect to see an urban garden is in the heights of a city skyscraper, but that’s exactly what you’ll be surprised with if you visit Pasona Inc. in Japan. Individuals employed by the multinational firm, which specializes in human resources and temp staffing, share their office space with thousands of square feet of fully functional urban gardens. With over 200 species of fruits and vegetables, and even a 1,000-square-foot-indoor rice paddy growing indoors, the office workers are constantly surrounded by agriculture.

Credit: Helene Veilleux

Credit: architizer.com

When French artist Hélène Veilleux ventured to Pasona Inc., she photographed the unique melding of “office” and “organic”. From the building’s foliage-covered exterior to the vines dangling off overhead trellises once inside, the Japanese building’s carefully crafted work environment is a huge contrast from what one might expect an international corporate headquarters to look like.

Credit: Helene Veilleux

Reports Mental Floss, Yoshimi Koni of Koni Designs is the brilliant architect behind the building’s design. According to the architect, the building isn’t just green for show; it is “an effective urban farming project (and is 100% organic).” In addition, the eco-minded showcase of innovative architecture serves an important purpose. Japan is an incredibly dense, urban country, and there is little room for sprawling farms. At present, more than half of the country’s food is imported from other countries. Urban farms can help remedy this problem, as well as improve the ambiance and health (more oxygen!) of city work environments. Scroll through the photos below to see what’s hidden in Pasona’s headquarters:

We update our site with news articles and full-length documentaries free of charge, with no registration needed. We gather the news and films as we search the web and present them to our viewers. We adhere to all copyright laws and honour the wishes of the producers.